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“Y-yeah,” he stammered, aware that the silence stretching on made everything that much more awkward. “It’s- fine.” He closed his eyes and purposely didn’t think about how much his ass bones hurt at the moment.
“Are you sure? Because I really need you to listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m…”
“Don’t hang up on me you little punk.”
A grin split his face. “It’s alright. I won’t.” Heaven forbid if his cell dropped the call. He imagined Syd’s mom coming after him with a kitchen butcher block, brandishing different knives of choice.
“It just so happens that I realized that you’re opening up a new office in Houston.”
“Yes. Well, I’m not- but the company is- we put out the ads two weeks ago, so you’re not wrong.”
“Good. Just so happens that Sydney up and quit her job.”
“She what?” Jesse realized that not only was he flat on his ass, his mouth was probably hanging open in some absurd position. He did a mental check, and yup. Sure was. He closed it and swallowed hard past his dry throat.
“I wasn’t any less shocked. Apparently, she wasn’t happy there. I mean, I knew that, I just didn’t realize how much. I came to San Fran just to be with her, since it’s always been us. It’s expensive here and she’s said she wants to relocate. If I just happen to give her the job application for the marketing department, since that’s basically what she was doing at her last place… would you just happen to come on down and interview her?”
Jesse blinked, confused. “I’m not sure that I have any idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about not giving up on you as a son-in-law just yet.”
Cut his jaw slamming into the ground for real. “W-what?” he stammered. “I- last time I checked… Sydney wasn’t in on that plan.”
“What if she is, she just doesn’t know it yet?”
His fingers tightened on the phone. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for her to maybe get in on that. Jump aboard. Hasn’t happened yet. We were close a couple of times, but she just doesn’t… she just doesn’t want it.”
“That’s not what she told me.”
Okaaaaaaayyyy what? He blinked a few times, trying to figure out if any of this conversation was actually real. He debated about pinching himself then decided against it. His radiating pain up into his spine was enough to convince him he wasn’t asleep.
“What did she tell you then? Because I know what she told me and there seems to be a slight conflict of interest here.”
“I’m not going to repeat everything she said to me, but I know that she let you go because she’s afraid that she’ll disappoint everyone. She’s afraid of hurting you. She loves you so much that she thought letting you go was the right thing. Letting you be happy the way she thinks she can’t make you.”
“Why would she think that? It hasn’t exactly worked out yet.”
“Yes, well, in my experience, love isn’t usually rational, and neither is fear. She’s afraid of disappointing me. Of hurting your parents too. She knows how badly they want this. She’s afraid that things will go too fast and then it will all come crashing down. Over the years, Jesse, I’ve realized what a stabilizing force you’ve been in Sydney’s life. You and your family. Raising a daughter alone is hard and your family was always there for both of us. It meant the world to me watching her grow up and blossom into this beautiful young woman. At first, I was worried about her having a guy as her best friend. I thought nothing good would come of that, but I watched you two and I realized that I was wrong. You were exactly what she needed. You always have been. You made Syd a better person. You took her wild spirit and you treasured it and let it grow, but you were also always that other side to her passion, the sweeter, gentler side that she needed. I’ve watched her love for you change. From the love of a child to the love of a best friend, to the love of a woman and into romantic love. She thought I didn’t know, but of course, I did. I watched you both and I always hoped that things would work out, because parents want the best for their children, no matter what their own experiences were. She’s scared and she’s stubborn, though, and she’s going to keep on running unless someone finally stops her.”
“I did try and stop her. A few times now,” he deadpanned.
“She’s ready, honey. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
Jesse sighed right into the phone. This wasn’t how he’d seen his day going. His heart squeezed, hammering hard in his chest. No matter how many years he lived, he was going to love Syd with the passing of every one of them. He was never going to just forget her. Move on. He’d tried that. Okay, so he’d half-assed tried it, but he knew it wasn’t going to work. She was the only one he’d ever wanted. That didn’t change, just because she’d given him all the hope in the world and brought it crashing down around him. Or because she’d walked out and never looked back over ten years ago.
